The Thanksgiving Hug I’ll Never Forget

My alarm went off at 2:45 a.m. I stumbled into the shower, got dressed, grabbed my bags, and drove an hour to the airport to catch my 6 a.m. flight. Three hours later, I was standing in the rental car line. Fifteen minutes after that, I was on the familiar two-hour drive north to Silver Lake.
As I followed the curve of the road along the water, I kept waiting for exhaustion to hit me.

It didn’t. Because this trip wasn’t about convenience.
It wasn’t about rest.
It wasn’t even about Thanksgiving dinner.
It was about a hug.
And not just any hug — the hug I knew I’d fly across the country for again and again.

The Look That Made Every Mile Worthwhile
When I walked into the restaurant where Nancy and Joe were hosting Thanksgiving, I immediately felt like I had come home. Earlier in the week, I had hopped on a Zoom call with them — all of us navigating major transitions, all of us overdue for a real catch-up. They’ve been my coworkers, my landlords, the sellers of the retreat center I purchased, my helpers, and ultimately dear friends for more than a decade.

On that call, they invited me to join them for Thanksgiving. It was a last-minute decision for them to host and an equally last-minute decision for me to book a flight. They were the ones who connected me with my Ukrainian family and everyone would be together for the holiday. I knew instantly what I needed to do.

When I arrived, I was greeted with warm hugs and the smell of smoked turkey drifting in from the kitchen. Only Nancy and Joe knew I was coming, so when my Ukrainian family pulled into the parking lot, I slipped into the kitchen and hid.

When Anastasyia, my unexpected soul daughter, stepped inside and saw me, her face lit up in a way that stopped time. Shock. Joy. Disbelief. Relief. All wrapped up in one expression I will carry with me forever.
She ran toward me. I opened my arms. And the hug that followed made every moment of lost sleep, layovers, and luggage worth it. Tamara, her mom, joined us, as did her younger sister, Sofia. It wasn’t a greeting. It was a reunion of hearts.

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, of course. But the truth is, it was never about the meal. The real gift was simply being together again. We spent hours catching up, hanging out, playing games, laughing, and planning more time together during my visit.

This morning, I am exhausted, but deeply, profoundly grateful. As I sip my tea, I find myself taking a few deep heart-centered breaths and remembering back to the day I met them …

How It All Began: One Phone Call That Changed Everything
Sometimes life shifts in an instant, long before we realize we’re stepping into our next chapter. For me, it was August 2022 when my friend Nancy called and asked a simple question:

“Trish… do you have space to take in a mom and her two daughters from Ukraine?”

She told me about her and Joe's desire to sponsor the wife and two daughters of a former employee; to keep them safe from the war that had broken out near their home.

There was no grand plan. No certainty about what the future would look like. No shared language. Just a dad trying to protect his family, a mother and two girls fleeing a war, and friends who wanted to help. 

I said yes without hesitation. Not because it made logical sense — but because it felt like the most natural 'of course' I have ever spoken. I turned the small apartment on my property into a home for our new family: three beds, fresh sheets, warm blankets, and a place to breathe again.

The girls arrived quiet and wide-eyed. Their mother carried grief and shock in her posture. Their country was burning behind them. They were safe, exhausted, and unable to speak much English.

And yet somehow, through Google Translate, gestures, patience, laughter, and a thousand tiny moments … strangers became family.

A Family Woven by Circumstance, Chosen by Love
Together, with Nancy and Joe, we navigated:

• School enrollments
• Doctors and dentists
• Trauma and tears
• Holidays and birthdays
• Meals around the table
• Hard news from home
• A father and brother still in Ukraine
• Challenges no family should ever have to face from an ocean away from home

There is no roadmap for this kind of connection. There is only presence, compassion, and simply showing up.
And somewhere in the midst of all that showing up, love rooted itself deeply. It's the kind of love that doesn’t require matching DNA, only matching hearts.

Why This Hug Was Different
This year, as I wrapped my arms around Anastasyia, I felt the weight of everything we’ve walked through together; the fear that brought them here, the strength that blossomed in them, and the trust that grew between us. She hugged me the way a child hugs someone who feels like safety. And I held her the way you hold someone who changed your life without ever meaning to.

That’s the thing about love in times of adversity:
It doesn’t just comfort the one who needs shelter.
It transforms the ones who offer it.

The Gift I Carry Forward
When I finally laid down at the end of that long day, I was struck by something simple and profound:
I didn’t fly to New Hampshire to give anything. I flew home because the people waiting for me there are among the greatest gifts of my life.

I am grateful for the love that found me in the middle of crisis. I am grateful for the love that arrived unplanned, unexpected, and somehow perfectly timed, and for the reminder that some of the most beautiful chapters of our lives begin with a single, unexpected question:

Do you have room?

Turns out, I had room in more ways than one.

A Heart-Centered Invitation
If your world feels heavy or you’re navigating unexpected challenges as we move into the holiday season, I’d love to offer you one simple practice that’s helped keep me grounded through every step of my journey.
Heart Breathing is gentle, calming, and powerful — a quick way to reconnect with yourself when life gets loud… or when you simply want to feel gratitude more fully.

👉 Download the Heart Breathing Practice here.

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